Credit: DC Comics

Diamond Comic Distributors released their July 2013 sales charts and market share data Friday, and based largely on their strength at the top of the comic book sales chart, DC has returned to the top of the industry-wide Market Share charts, splitting the month with Marvel.

And industry-wide, overall sales versus July 2012 were up a robust 16.73%, after more modest gains in May and June (see links above).

Credit: DC Comics

Scott Snyder and Jim Lee's Superman Unchained (#2) was the bestselling comic book for the second month in a row, while the first chapter of Snyder's Batman: Zero Year (Batman #21) came in as the second bestselling title of the month, further solidifying Snyder's emergence as one of the industry's hottest and leading creators. Justice League #21, the first chapter of Trinity War, was the month's fourth bestselling title. All told, DC Comics accounted for 6 of the 7 bestselling titles of July.

Marvel's bestselling title was Guardians of the Galaxy #5, featuring the much-publicized full-on debut of Neil Gaiman's Angela in the Marvel Universe. And Superior Spider-Man continues to be a winner for Marvel, with two monthly issues and the debut of Superior Spider-Man Team-Up making up the bottom 3 of the Top 10.

Credit: Marvel Comics

Marvel, however, also scored a rare win on the graphic novel chart, with Matt Fraction's acclaimed Hawkeye Vol. 2: Little Hits trade paperback coming out on top.

Market Share wise, DC led the Dollar Share category, eeking out a small win over rival Marvel, 32.50% to 32.34%.

Marvel took the Unit Share category in another close battle, 36.47% vs. DC's 34.07%.

And again, overall, after about a 2.5% gain in Dollar Sales in June vs. June 2012, and a less than 1% gain in May vs. May 2012, sales once again rose by strong double figures vs. the previous year.

Based on very strong graphic novel sales, July 2013 sales were up 16.73% in Dollars vs. 2012, and the 2013 Dollar sales year-to-date stands at 12.71% vs. 2012.

The July 2013 Market Share and Comparative Sales Data charts, along with Top 10 Comic Books and Top 10 Graphic Novels charts, and a NEW Diamond chart - New Titles Shipped - follow below. Look for even more analysis of July’s sales from Comichron soon.

PUBLISHER MARKET SHARES

RETAIL MARKET SHARE PUBLISHER SHARE DC COMICS 32.50% MARVEL COMICS 32.34% IMAGE COMICS 6.56% IDW PUBLISHING 6.09% DARK HORSE COMICS 5.43% DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 2.54% BOOM! STUDIOS 2.20% AVATAR PRESS INC 1.09% ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT INC 0.97% VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC 0.93% OTHER NON-TOP 10 9.35% UNIT MARKET SHARE PUBLISHER SHARE MARVEL COMICS 36.47% DC COMICS 34.07% IMAGE COMICS 6.79% DARK HORSE COMICS 4.61% IDW PUBLISHING 4.53% DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 2.76% BOOM! STUDIOS 2.25% ASPEN MLT INC 1.07% VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC 1.05% AVATAR PRESS INC 0.99% OTHER NON-TOP 10 5.41%

NEW TITLES SHIPPED

PUBLISHER COMICS SHIPPED GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED MAGAZINES SHIPPED TOTAL SHIPPED DC COMICS 91 29 1 121 MARVEL COMICS 81 37 0 118 IMAGE COMICS 42 14 0 56 IDW PUBLISHING 38 22 0 60 DARK HORSE COMICS 35 20 0 55 DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 37 1 0 38 BOOM! STUDIOS 24 2 0 26 AVATAR PRESS 18 1 1 20 ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT 15 1 0 16 VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT 7 1 0 8 OTHER NON-TOP 10 77 167 42 286

COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS

DOLLARS UNITS JULY 2013 VS. JUNE 2013 COMICS 7.65% 7.59% GRAPHIC NOVELS 24.80% 31.39% TOTAL COMICS/GN 12.72% 9.26% JULY 2013 VS. JULY 2012 COMICS 12.65% 11.02% GRAPHIC NOVELS 26.11% 18.11% TOTAL COMICS/GN 16.73% 11.59% YEAR-TO-DATE 2013 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2012 COMICS 13.16% 10.36% GRAPHIC NOVELS 11.72% 10.18% TOTAL COMICS/GN 12.71% 10.35%

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS

RANK DESCRIPTION PRICE VENDOR 1 SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #2 $3.99 DC 2 BATMAN #22 $3.99 DC 3 GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #5 $3.99 MAR 4 JUSTICE LEAGUE #22 $3.99 DC 5 BATMAN ANNUAL #2 $4.99 DC 6 BATMAN SUPERMAN #2 $3.99 DC 7 JUSTICE LEAGUE OFAMERICA#6 $3.99 DC 8 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #13 $3.99 MAR 9 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #14 $3.99 MAR 10 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM UP #1 $3.99 MAR

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS